, 1887-09-15

Last year the Port Townsend
Board of Trade teI.dered, through
me, the Conference written offer
for $4,000 worth of land and $4,000
in cash, or its Equivalent. in eonsid-
Grafton that the university be located
there. Th;t Board of Trade includes
the leading business men of the Port
of Entry, and represents an aggre-
gate of several hundred thousand
dollars worth of capital. 1t was
amply responsible for the amount
pledged. Its offer was
't- ACCEPTED UNANIMOUSLY
In the following resolution:
ResolUed, That the Briggs location,
to consist of not less than eighty
acres of land, on the shore of Port
Townsend bay, about one and half
miles westward from Port Townsend,
be selected as the site of the proposed
university for Western Washington.
under the patronage of the Puget
Sound Annuol Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, condi-
toned on bona fde bonus from the
citizens of Port Townsend and vicin-
lty, amounting to at least $4,000 in
land and $4,000 in coin and building
material.
The foregoing, forming the basis
OF the eoatraet, was adopted ON Sat
urday at noon, thereafter Board of
Trade meeting took action in refer
ence to the Conference agent desired,
and it was not until Monday that the
ninety day resolution was adopted,
about which so much has lately been
said. That resolution has nothing to
do with the contract, but merely con
ferred authority upon Conference
committee to compl te preliminary
arrangements for accepting the site
whenever" lhe bonns be provided.
1t appointed an appraisement COM
mittee on the part of the Conference,
''empopered to complete the prelim-
mary arrangements for the accept
ance of the proposed site of this uni
verslty, within ninety days, upon sub.
stantial compliance by the citizens of
Port Townsend and vicinity with the
conditions imposed" 1t also desig-
mated the Trustees, who shall be
called by the above named committee
lUhaeeuer the bonus be provided !"
Some time last spring objection was
raised by a technical trustee who
lived in Tacoma that the bonus had
not been raised within ninety days
after Conference adjournment. This
was evident to all as strained, quib
bling construction. However the
Conference agent, who was on The
ground, was Appealed to. He gave
as his opinion that there was no time
limit to the contract In order to be
sure, however, he wrote to the presid-
ing bishop, receiving from that offic-
er written confirmation of >such con-
struetion of the contract. The trus-
tees also agreed with that view, and
appealed to one of their number
(Hon. J. r. Lewis) who filed a care
fully prepared written legal opinion,
sustaining the same. The bonus was
rendered in behalf of the Board eff
Trade in March last The Conference
appraisement committee reported in
writing to the board of trustees that
"after careful examination" they
found the ''bonus fclly raised" OBJ
lection being urged to them, however,
the trustees appointed committee OF
appraisement who made subsequent
appraisement with substantially the
same results. On May 3lst the trus-
tees incorporated and permanently
organized. Up to the late Conference
session, however, the lands had not
all been bonded, and a few of the cash
subscriptions had not been written
SO written guarantee, aggregating
over SD 900, was rendered to cover
and secure all suck irregular sub
scriptions. This was far in excess of
what the trustees exacted. Tho land
values, according to careful estimates
OF these committees, aggregated $40. :
450, and the subscriptions in coin,
labor, material, etc, after having been
carefully discounted in all time pay
ments to present actual cash value,
aggregated $40, ,S65. The guaranty
amounted to matchmaking a total
of S65, 500, or surplus of $15,690 to
cover all possible deficiencies and
losses. The Conference educational
committee did not read before that
body the report of the trustees sec
retary, nor did it pay any attention
to the showing made before it by the
Conference agent and the Board of
Trade agent, neither did it read the
report of the Conference agent. All
these things were carefully smothered
and report was made showing such
partial facts as would be best calcu-
lated to prejudice the case against
Port Townsend. 1t was evident from
the start-from the bristling objec-
tions, and the querulous, carping
spirit manifested-that the object was
anything but fair business dealing,
much less course that would be
prompted by pure Christian desire.
All sorts of trivial objections were
urged, and / was held up as one who
had induced the Conference to enter
into contract on falls statements, yet
it was not explained why the business
men OF Port Townsend stood ready to
make my promises good if I were
thak kind of a-man; and finally, when
l offered to execute bond for $50.
600, with d. L. Denny, of Seattle,
and Alonzo Davis, of Dungeness, as
sureties, conditioned that the bonus
agreed upon should measure up its
stipulated value in full, the opposi-
ton stubbornly fell back upon the
time clause" and voted that the
conditions had not been met" / then
as Board of Trade agent rendered a
proposition to leave the legal con-
struction of the contract to a board of
arbitration, to consist of trained legal
minds, impartial and mutually ac-
ceptable. This manifestly fair and
just proposition was referred to the
committee on education, trithout
reading, and was promptly smoth-
cred, Conference arrogating to itself
the sole right to adjudicate that mat
ter. 1t was not necessary, in order
to carry their point, that resolution
be adopted declaring that no such
place as Port Townsend existed.
hence there was no resolution of that
nature introduced. But, in order that
the public may know just how this
infamy was perpetrated, we say in
the language of an immortal doca-
ment, "Let facts be submitted to q